WSBK – Statements by World Superbike riders in Buriram – Statements from the first WSBK round

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World Superbike riders’ statements in Buriram

WSBK - Statements by World Superbike riders in Buriram - Statements from the first WSBK round

The second round of the 2016 World SBK took place this weekend in Buriram, Thailand. To complete our near-live reports, here are the statements of the Superbike riders at the end of their two Thai races.

WSBK Round 1 Statements

Site readers – who, as everyone knows, are a little more fortunate than the others – have already been able to experience Saturday and Sunday, almost live, the Mondial Superbike and Supersport races on the Buriram circuit (read, then).

Here are the statements of the drivers who distinguished themselves on Saturday during the first round, then on page 2 the statements of those who led the second WSBK race on Sunday. Honor to the winner !

Jonathan Rea, 1st:
"The pace was fast and I didn’t expect it to be so fast as we had been slower than last year for the whole weekend. The race was therefore good and fast. I dipped my nose into the handlebars and four laps from the end I had a small lead of about 0.7 or 0.8 seconds over Tom. In the last laps, I was surprised by a latecomer at the first corner, but it ended well. I had already done my job, my tank was completely empty after trying to escape. I’m a little tired now, because I put full throttle in those last four laps. We were able to capitalize on this work and I feel like it was a long time since I had fought like this to win. I think my bike will be much better tuned for tomorrow".

Tom Sykes, 2nd:
"I’m pretty happy because we had a much stronger race than. Unfortunately, I struggled in two or three corners, which handicapped me a lot. Jonathan was driving very well and he was strong on the last laps. But we were also good at the end of the race, especially compared to previous races. It’s a good point and the gap with the winner is not that big (two tenths of a second, Editor’s note!). We have a much better feeling, it’s a good step forward. The Ninja ZX-10R has been consistent and we’ve had some good times so we’ll see how the next race goes. We have to try to improve for tomorrow, but it’s a perfectly acceptable start. On the one hand, I’m disappointed that I didn’t win, but on the other hand, we made great progress. We are working in the right direction"

Michael van den Mark, 3rd:
"I am so happy to win my WorldSBK! I wasn’t really expecting it, but when I found myself on the track I felt good and just attacked. Kawasaki are generally very competitive on one lap, but today we managed to be faster. I made a mistake at the start of the race, I was probably a little too excited to be in pole position. I then had a problem with the downshift and widened in the first corner, losing a few more places. Little by little, I was able to close the gap on Tom and Jonathan. I found myself really close, but I got really hot on the 8th lap which cost me a bit of time and after that their pace didn’t allow me to regain ground. Either way, I am able to be both quick and consistent. We just need a few adjustments to be even more competitive tomorrow".

Chaz Davies, 4th:
"It was a tough race and honestly I don’t think I could have done better today. I didn’t have the pace to stay with the lead group and it wasn’t easy to contain Davide either … I suffered from unexpected rear tire wear before halfway through the race and I must have played it defensive. In addition, top speed is unfortunately very important on this track and we still have to work on this point, especially in the first sector. It won’t be easy, but we won’t give up. We will try other settings to, at least, reach the podium tomorrow".

Markus Reiterberger, 5th:
"I am proud of my race. I didn’t take the best of starts, but I found myself eighth at the end of the first lap. I struggled to stay with the riders in front of me for the first few laps, but then I felt better. My BMW S1000RR performed really well today. I had pilots in my sights and tried to hit them, get closer to them. Then I noticed that some were making mistakes and so I tried not to make any until the end: it was the key to my fifth place".

Alex Lowes, 6th:
"It was a tough day overall for me, but the race was very positive with a sixth place finish. So I am quite satisfied, even though we know that the potential of the YZF-R1 and our "package" is much higher. This is the first race that I really finished this year and I feel that the direction taken is the right one. I can’t wait to make some more improvements for tomorrow and see what we can do in the second run.".

Sylvain Guintoli, 7th:
"This race was difficult in the end and we encountered some difficulties on the braking: I went straight on three times. After having recovered my first deviation from the trajectory, the first half of the race went really well. I had a good pace and I was catching up with the Ducatis. But in the second half I started to struggle with the wear and tear on my rear tire and couldn’t keep up the pace I wanted. The race was grueling, we expected it, and we will just continue to work on the development of the YZF-R1 so that it is ready for tomorrow.".

Sylvain Barrier, 16th:
"Unfortunately, I am still discovering the bike, little by little, and its reactions when entering a turn must be taken into account. I’m sorry because without these mistakes I could have finished my race around tenth place".

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